Exeter University is a notoriously sporty institution, which currently sits 4th in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) standings and offers ‘one of the most extensive programmes in the UK for competitive university sport’. With 52 sports clubs, and over 110 teams competing in weekly leagues, as well as several annual events, Exeter provides a platform for many to take sport professionally. It’s unsurprising that Exeter University has churned out talent each year with athletes specialising in a variety of sports.
Rugby Union especially has benefitted from the university’s close ties with local Premiership team, Exeter Chiefs. The university has a unique system where many playing in the university 1XI team have played in tandem for the Chiefs. Avid fans of the Premiership or Six Nations Tournament will be familiar with current Exeter student, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. He joined Exeter in 2023 to study medicine and is set to stay based in Devon until he graduates in December 2029. After going through the ranks in his hometown for the Cardiff Blues, he moved to English team Wasps during his time at Aston University.
As the Wasps slipped into administration in October 2022, the Chiefs were keen to sign the Welsh player. Cardiff rejected his application for studying Medicine, but Exeter provided him with the best of both worlds – study and game time. The winger is known for his fast and nimble movements, and his cunning ability to set up flankers before cutting through them with incredible pace. The beginning of the academic year for ‘Super Manny’ also marked the beginning of the Premiership season, and although the Chiefs were off to a shaky start, Feyi-Waboso still made an impression scoring five tries in the opening five rounds. Just over a year ago, he confirmed his allegiance to the England squad (much to the Welsh nation’s upset) and made his debut in the Six Nations.
At just 22 years of age, Jenkins has played for the Chiefs and captained the Welsh national team – making him Wales’ second youngest test captain.
Fellow Exeter students and players of Welsh heritage include Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza, both of whom study BSc Sport and Exercise Science. At just 22 years of age, Jenkins has played for the Chiefs and captained the Welsh national team – making him Wales’ second youngest test captain. Tshiunza made his Premiership debut in the 21/22 season and was soon called up to the Welsh team. Although he played for the Welsh U20s, he decided to make the move to Exeter in pursuit of his degree, and his choice to join the Chiefs was based on that.
Exeter has also produced sporting talent in the sailing world too; Charlotte Webster, on a BSc Environmental Science course on the Penryn campus, is ranked number one female sailor in the Cayman Islands. She claims sailing is in her DNA – and she took this passion to the Olympics last summer, where she placed 41st overall ‘after the weather interrupted’ parts of her race. Fellow Olympian and current BA Philosophy and Politics student, Freya Black) sailed alongside GB sailor Saskia Tidy in the women’s skiff 49erFX class. Meanwhile, honorary graduate, Dina Asher-Smith, competed in the 2x100m women’s relay in Paris – the team took second spot for Great Britain.
It’s an extraordinary feat to complete a degree at a prestigious Russell Group university, but the ambition and focus of these student athletes and many more – both past and present – is profound and utterly impressive. Whilst many balance training for university, club and country with studying, it gives food for thought – if they can handle this, they are surely set for any challenges they face in their career.
